Chapter Meeting CHAPTER MEETING... 1 TUES. OCT. 6, 2015 GARLAND RAILROAD MUSEUM, GARLAND, TEXAS... 1

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1 V A L L I H O S K I, N O R T H T E X A S N E W S E D I T O R O P I N I O N S E X P R E S S E D H E R E I N M A Y N O T R E F L E C T T H E O F F I C I A L P O S I T I O N O F T H E N O R T H T E X A S C H A P T E R O R T H E N A T I O N A L R A I L W A Y H I S T O R I C A L S O C I E T Y. A L L C O N T E N T R I G H T S R E T A I N E D B Y O R I G I N A L A U T H O R. E V E R Y A T T E M P T H A S B E E N M A D E T O C O M P L Y W I T H F A I R U S E A N D C O P Y R I G H T L A W. CHAPTER MEETING... 1 TUES. OCT. 6, 2015 GARLAND RAILROAD MUSEUM, GARLAND, TEXAS... 1 SPECIAL FEATURES... 1 THE GALVESTON AND WESTERN RAILROAD... 1 THE WEATHERFORD, MINERAL WELLS AND NORTHWESTERN RAILWAY... 2 NRHS & CHAPTER NEWS / VIEWS ST ANNUAL FALL PLANO TRAIN SHOW & SLIDE SHOW AUCTION REPORTS... 3 CHAPTER BUSINESS MEETING MINUTES, SEPTEMBER 1, CHAPTER BUSINESS MEETING MINUTES, JULY 7, CHAPTER DIRECTORY... 5 NORTH TEXAS CHAPTER OFFICERS, NORTH TEXAS CHAPTER HISTORY... 5 NORTH TEXAS CALENDAR... 5 NEW SOUTHERN PACIFIC BOOK SPONSORED BY NORTH TEXAS CHAPTER!... 6 Chapter Meeting Tues. Oct. 6, 2015 Garland Railroad Museum, Garland, Texas. When 7 pm meet n greet. 7:30 pm meeting. Where Garland Railroad Museum, 393 N. Sixth Street, Garland, Texas / Program: Museum visit. Special Features The Galveston and Western Railroad by Jon Shea, VP Programs The Galveston and Western Railway which lasted from 1884 to 1923 was a narrow gauge line 13 miles long which ran from 9th street and the wharf to Lafitte's Grove on the western end of Galveston. The Nottingham Lace Factory was at the end of the line and was to support a planned community but was unsuccessful and closed after a few years. The people who planned the railroad had grandiose dreams and originally hoped to cross Galveston Island, go to the Rio Grande Valley and extend all the way to Mexico City but it never got off of Galveston Island. Conflicts with the city, county and two street railroads kept the railroad in the courts for most of its existence. The rolling stock was never more than three locomotives, two hopper cars and several flat cars fitted with benches to carry passengers. Most of its freight revenue consisted of hauling sand particularly during Galveston's grade raising after the 1900 Great Storm. One of the engines was a Baldwin built in 1864 named The Little Susie. It was named for the daughter of Mayor Charles Hurley one of the builders of the line. The line carried passengers to the west Beaches and Lafitte's Grove which was a popular picnic spot with large a grove of shade trees. There were also legends of pirate treasure buried there. By 1923 only four miles of track remained and Galveston and Western Railway was acquired by the Santa Fe Railway. Source: Galveston Monthly magazine, February Train Crossing Galveston Causeway, Postmarked 1913 The Old Way. The New Way. Image credit: Next issue news deadline: October 18, 2015 Send to NTX.News@Yahoo.com Page 1

2 The Weatherford, Mineral Wells and Northwestern Railway by Jon Shea, VP Programs The Weatherford, Mineral Wells and Northwestern Railway received its charter on July 2, it was to build a 25 mile line from Weatherford to Mineral Wells. It was capitalized at $500,000 and the office was in Weatherford. The directors were from Kansas City, MO and Weatherford. In 1891, the line was completed from Weatherford to Mineral Wells. Rolling stock was two locomotives and ninety cars. In 1895 passenger revenue was $15,561 and freight revenue was $38,070. The Texas and Pacific Railway Company purchased the line in 1902 and in 1908 eighteen more miles were completed from Mineral Wells to Graford. In 1931 it was classified as a Class II railroad and had three locomotives and three cars [3 cars must be an error]. In 1931, the company had $5,783 in passenger revenue and $854,122 in freight revenue. The twelve miles of track between Salesville and Graford was abandoned in 1936 followed by the eight miles between Mineral Wells and Salesville in By 1945 passenger service had ended. On January 1, 1988 the railroad was merged in to the Missouri Pacific Railroad Company which sold the line to the City of Mineral Wells. Mineral wells leased the railroad to The Mineral Wells and Eastern which closed in May 1992 due to lack of business. Much of the line is now a hike and bike trail, The Lake Mineral Wells State Trailway. Source: The Handbook of Texas online. (Image source: (Image source: (Image source: What follows is the text of the Texas State Historical Marker: "In 1852, years before the nation's first transcontinental rail line was completed in 1869, the Texas Legislature chartered what would become the Texas & Pacific Railway Company. The Civil War halted progress, but in 1888 [this is an error is I believe correct] the line reached Weatherford in its advance westward to the Pacific coast. The tracks then turned south to avoid the Palo Pinto Hills. This left northwestern Parker County and most of Palo Pinto County without rail support. In the 1880s, Mineral Wells became a resort. A stage line connected it to the railroad at Millsap, but the town's popularity called for a rail connection. Several men, led by W.A. Stone of Missouri, received a Next issue news deadline: October 18, 2015 Send to NTX.News@Yahoo.com Page 2

3 charter for the Weatherford, Mineral Wells & Northwestern Railway Company in The line linked Mineral Wells to Weatherford, which by then was served by the T&P and Santa Fe railroads. The WMW&NWRR established a depot, offices and repair shop in Weatherford. The new line, built largely on land obtained from the Franco-Texan Land Company, included stops at Lemley, Franco, Garner and Rock Creek. On January 1, 1891, a crowd in Mineral Wells greeted the first train's arrival, and by 1899 approximately 33,000 passengers made the trip each year from Weatherford to Mineral Wells. The line also supported freight shipments. T&P eventually acquired the line and extended it to Salesville, Oran and Graford. By the beginning of the 1940s, after decades of highway expansion, the rail line was no longer productive. The advent of World War II and the training of troops at nearby Camp Wolters resurrected the line briefly. It became part of the Missouri Pacific system in 1988 and closed in (2006)" Source: Here is a rough map of the right of way Source: NRHS & Chapter News / Views 1st Annual Fall Plano Train Show & Slide Show Auction Reports Saturday, September 26, 2015 & Sunday, September 27, 2015 by Skip Waters A quick look Books, we sold about a dozen books, three books of which were sold to a new dealer. Jeff Phelps, Jerry Nunn, Don Novak, Dave Gramm, Bob Kennedy,, Edwin Pegalow, Don Novak all helped and volunteer for both chapter book table and auction show. And we had train show volunteers too. Slide show auction was good with all things considered. We had about 12 people there and 2 sellers, we sold over $100 and made about $25 for the chapter. This year, we paid for the room (as opposed to Saginaw) and so sales total was less, CThe1 CChapter did satisfy our requirement for the Train Show. So it works out in the end. In the future, we are going to make changes to the Auction rules to increase revenu1, and find a different hotel room.. Job well done by all Thanks! Chapter Business Meeting Minutes, September 1, NORTH TEXAS CHAPTER, NATIONAL RAILWAY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, MINUTES, DATE: September 1, Hilton Garde Inn, Grapevine, Texas. Due to an oversight, our meeting location at the Grapevine Founders Building was double-booked this month. After a few minutes scrambling by our president, Wayne Smith, alternative accommodations were secured at the Hilton Garden Inn in Grapevine and the meeting was called to order at 7:50 p.m.with 11 members present. Wayne recounted his recent trip to Minnesota and Manitoba, where he rode on the light rail system and toured the James Hill mansion in St. Paul. Hill was nicknamed the Empire Builder, recalling his railroad ownership practices and the Empire Builder passenger train was named after him. VP-Trips & Events Skip Waters read out the work schedule for the upcoming Plano train show on September We had 5 ticket sales positions, 1 Info table staffing position, and 1 Center Door Control position to provide manpower for, and Skip passed out the schedule for members to sign up for the work slots so the chapter can fully earn its share value. (Sec. note, all positions were filled before the start of the show. Thanks members for volunteering your time.) Skip reported he has booked the Chinaberry Room at the Southfork Hotel for our 1st Fall Slide Show & Auction, to be held from 6-10pm on Saturday, Sept 26, All slides will be auctioned, starting at 25 cents opening bid and quarter increments. The chapter will receive 20% of the total sales as a donation. He requested input from the members present on hosting the November 2016 Fall Board meeting and Advisory meeting. The meetings will take place on Friday evening or Sat. morning of the weekend chosen. Approximately attendees at the meetings. There will also be a Directors meeting on Saturday afternoon or Sunday morning with 25 members attending. Banquet dinner on Saturday evening. Three booking nights at hotels for Thur., Fri., Sat. nights. A straw poll of the members present was 90% in favor of hosting the meetings and arranging for some limited rail excursion during that time. Skip requested the input as he wants to tell the board that we are ready and willing to host the Fall 2016 meetings. He spoke about next year s national convention, to be held July 19-24, 2016 in Denver, CO. There are a large number of possible rail excursion events being reviewed at this time, with more info to come. Keep the dates open so you can attend. Wayne handed out flyers for the Texas Western Railroad Club s Train Show, to be held October After touring their facility and holding a joint meeting with them this past summer, they have invited us to attend and have provided us with a free table for our SP book sales. Volunteers needed to man the table. Next issue news deadline: October 18, 2015 Send to NTX.News@Yahoo.com Page 3

4 VP Programs Jon Shea showed the Galveston museum s latest newsletter and reported on our upcoming chapter meetings. October 6 meeting will be held at the Garland Railroad Museum, hosted by our own member Claude Doane. November 3 meeting will be the annual club auction, held in Grapevine if space is available, otherwise at a location TBD. December 8 we will meet at Babe s Restaurant in downtown old Carrollton for our annual Christmas chapter dinner and party. January 5, 2016 meeting will be the annual officer election and member Show & Tell with location TBD. Program tonight was given by Skip on his favorite subject, The Crash at Crush, celebrating its 119th anniversary. Skip recalled his first involvement with the topic was an article in Trains magazine. Other magazines like True West and the city of West, TX 100th anniversary newspaper article mentioned the event, which took place only a few miles outside of present day West, TX. Skip did so much research on the event that he was contacted by a screenwriter as a consultant for the writer s play, Crush, written by playwright Jo Morelli, directed by Tim Shane and presented at the Hub Theatre in Dallas in Aug. and Sept The namesake character, Willie Crush, was a MKT railroad ticket salesperson who dreamed up the idea of promoting a staged crash of two steam locomotives to increase ticket sales. After receiving permission from his superiors, Willie promoted the event with fervor, claiming the crash would be For Science. He staged three cameras 100 yds. away from the targeted crash location and hired professional photographer Jervis Deane to oversee the filming of the crash. Skip then showed a 10 minute snippet of the actual play, depicting Willie outlining his plan for the crash to his supporters and their efforts to promote the event with the MKT board of directors. Willie lived in Dallas, and there is a plaque in the sidewalk in front of the building where his apartment was located, to this day. Willie then moved to the Highland Park area of Dallas and was responsible for MKT building the Highland Park Depot. Upon his death, he was interred at Calvary Hill Cemetery on Webb Chapel Road at Lombardy Lane. Skip showed a copy of the actual Dallas Morning News ad that Crush designed for the event and promised more to come in Part 2 of The Crash at Crush. Submitted by Dave Gramm, Secretary. Chapter Business Meeting Minutes, July 7, NORTH TEXAS CHAPTER, NATIONAL RAILWAY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, MINUTES, DATE: July 7, SOKOL Hall, Dallas, Texas. VP Programs Jon Shea called the meeting to order while President Wayne Smith finished his supper. There were 12 members present and guest chauffeur Carolyn Gramm, who brought Secretary Dave Gramm to the meeting, since he can t drive yet after surgery. Jon thanked member Dave Podhrasky for making SOKOL Hall available on short notice after we had to cancel the planned meeting at the Garland Railroad Museum due to the ill health of our member Claude Doane who is a museum docent. We will reschedule the visit soon. Jon displayed a book he found in a Galveston bookstore and a brochure on the Tremont logging industry auto tour. Jon reviewed the upcoming chapter meeting schedule. The August meeting will be held in Grapevine at the Founder s Building with member Jerry Nunn providing a program on his latest photos. September s meeting will also be at Grapevine and feature member Skip Waters program on The Crash at Crush. October s meeting is undecided and may be our make-up visit to the Garland museum if Claude is recovered enough to host the meeting. November s meeting will be in Grapevine and feature the annual member auction while December s gathering will take place at Babe s Restaurant in Carrollton for the annual Christmas dinner and party. Secretary Dave Gramm reported on the recent change to the area train shows with both major shows now taking place in Plano due to Ft. Worth raising rental fees to a level that was not sustainable. Treasurer Jim King reported the chapter had sold 389 SP books so far. We will do a major push for sales at the two Plano train shows, especially for the Christmas season we missed last year. We have approx books left that will need to be moved in the fall from their current storage location due to construction on Jim s home. VP Trips & Events and National Director Skip Waters commented he will give a report on the Vermont national convention at the August meeting. The winter meeting appears to be on the verge of cancellation due to a lack of agenda items. Member Jeff Phelps reported on a video tape he purchased for 25 cents at a resale shop. It was from Bledsoe Rail Slides and titled, Fort Worth & Texas Area Railroad Action. It also came with some vintage 35mm slides. Jeff donated the tape to the chapter archives along with a DVD copy of the tape. President Wayne resumed chairing the meeting and reported on his recent trip to south Texas around Alpine and the Big Bend area, including Terlingua, Ft. Stockton, Ft. Davis and the McDonald Observatory. Member Dave Podhrasky reported on the chapter s work hours for the September Plano train show will be basically the same for the January show. He will work all the show manager hours assigned since he is the club representative to the council. The remaining hours need to be staffed by club volunteers as well as members being needed to man the club book sales table and promote the chapter. Skip will also need some volunteers to help at the slide show on Saturday night, Sept 26 from 6-10pm. Member Jimmy Barlow reported all the current KCS intermodal yard traffic in Dallas will be shifted to the new KCS yard after next week. Program for the evening was a DVD titled MKT Stations, Depots, and Structures Vol. I by chapter member Pat Coughlin. Submitted by Dave Gramm, Secretary. Next issue news deadline: October 18, 2015 Send to NTX.News@Yahoo.com Page 4

5 Chapter Directory North Texas Chapter Officers, President, Wayne Smith, Vice President/Programs, Jon Shea, Vice President/Trips and Events, Skip Waters, Vice President/Communications, and NTZ editor, Valli Hoski, Secretary, Dave Gramm, Treasurer, Jim King, Press time 9/29/2015. Filename: NTx Newsletter v1 North Texas Chapter History Chapter Business Address North Texas Chapter, NRHS, P.O. Box Dallas, Texas Chapter North Texas Zephyr, chapter newsletter Archive zephyr.html North Texas Facebook Founded and chartered in 1996, the North Texas Chapter is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) educational organization incorporated under the laws of the state of Texas. Emphasis of the chapter is activity, history, and enjoyment of railroading past and present. Meetings are held 7:30-10:00 PM, first Tuesday of each month, usually (but not always) at the Grapevine Founders Building at Main St. and the FWWR railroad tracks. Visitors and newcomers are welcome. Chapter membership includes our monthly chapter newsletter, the North Texas Zephyr. As of October 2014, chapter dues ($16, plus $2 per additional family member) should be sent to the Chapter. Chapter mailing address: North Texas Chapter NRHS, P.O. Box , Dallas, Texas National organization 2015 dues are paid to the NRHS directly. Learn about the National Railway Historical Society at North Texas Calendar Sat. Sept. 26, 2015 Sun. Sept. 27, 2015 Sat. Sept. 26, 2015 Tues. Oct. 6, Tues. Nov. 3, st Annual Fall Plano Train Show Sat. 10 a.m. 5 p.m. Sun. 10 a.m. 4 p.m. Location: Plano Centre, 2000 East Spring Creek Parkway. Info: or contact Chris Atkins at chris@railroadmodelers.com 1 st Annual Slide Show Auction & NHRS Open House 6:30 p.m. 10:00 p.m. Location: Southfork Hotel - Chinaberry Room, 1600 North Central Expressway, Plano, TX North Texas Chapter meeting 7:30 p.m. Location: Garland Railroad Museum, 200 Museum Plaza Dr, Garland, TX (972) Program: to be confirmed. North Texas Chapter meeting 7:30 p.m. Location: Founders Building, Grapevine, Texas. Program: Annual Members Auction. Tues. Dec. 1, 2015 North Texas Chapter holiday dinner 7:30 p.m. Location: Babe's Chicken Dinner House, 1006 West Main Street, Carrollton, Texas More information: Tues. Jan. 5, North Texas Chapter meeting 7:30 p.m. Location: to be confirmed. Program: Annual Chapter Election. Next issue news deadline: October 18, 2015 Send to NTX.News@Yahoo.com Page 5

6 New Southern Pacific Book Sponsored by North Texas Chapter! The North Texas Chapter is proud to sponsor David Bernstein s new work on the Southern Pacific s Eastern Lines. See order form below, or contact the Chapter for orders.. Next issue news deadline: October 18, 2015 Send to NTX.News@Yahoo.com Page 6

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